Corvair Engine Really Stands Out

Working with the engine cover I picked up, I thought I might cut out a hole for the portions of the engine that really stick out.

Pretty easy just to cut & section/lengthen the Bradley GT rear body area. Just mark an accurate line along the sides & upper rear area, ahead of the rear lip spoiler. Then die grind the line & cut the entire rear body area off. The only thick areas are the bulkheads. Anyhow, cut through those areas, then get some sheetmetal steel. Feather back the fiberglass on the remaining rear body piece & the body cutline. Then fiberglass in the sheet steel, extending the length of the rear body as far as is needed. Then do your finishing layers of fiberglass work , then gelcoat the area & sand & paint. Please do wait for decent weather & temperatures. As fiberglass work is temperature sensative, to cure up correctly. The 1st generation Bradley GT is not exactly a compound curve nightmare in the rear body area. It is pretty slab sided & simple, with a little bit of curvature. You can do this work, I know you can. Then your engine will fit nicely within the body.

I apprecate the ideas. Extending the body would be the the nicest end result. As I am not that experienced with major body modifications and don't want to really mess up, I think I will try expanding the engine cover out over the engine components. I agree that just a hole would look almost as bad, as the alternator and oil filter are not a really attractive view sticking out of the engine cover.

If I mess up the engine cover, that is easier to replace or redo than messing up the body. Appreciate the thoughts and input.

I need to make cuts only as large as needed for a balanced pop out on the engine cover. I may want to consider air flow as well. In So. California we have lots of warm days and good air flow will be essential too. I also need to keep in mind where the License plate will attach. Can't have a nice engine cover and dorky License plate location. I will need to run electrical to light it up as well.

That was actually my first idea. I considered just making my own box, like a rectangular extension. I mocked it up out of cardboard and did not like the appearance. Then I tried just using some flat pieces cut out so the engine stuck out with the sides and top enclosed. Just did not look right. That oil filter sticks out the most and just needs to be hidden from view.

I gave up on my limited ideas and purchased a Bradley engine cover and I want to keep as much of it in appearance as possible. I am going to try to make a center small rectangle cut out and box it to cover the engine. Will post photos as I make progress. Might take a few trys to get it right

Now that is a great idea, an A/C shop works with sheet metal all the time to fabricate connections and flashings for installing ducting. They would have the tools to fabricate the entire bump out and I could attach my cut out piece to the end keeping the appearance of the engine cover intact. The bottom being open keeps the air flowing.

I guess its just me but I like to do as much in house as possible.

I would cut the hatch up and use duct tape, cardboard, wax paper, resin and glass to get the shape I want. The cost is low, its so much easier then trying to convince soem HVAC guy to bend up something for a car, and you can learn alot.

Just my 2 cents worth.

While having an A/C shop fabricate some sheet metal would be a quick and easy process, jspbtown has a point... its about building it yourself. It is the process and small victories along the way that bring pleasure not to mention some pride when you get it running and on the road. I am going to do a mock up from stuff I have laying around, like chicken wire

Big Bird: I have used 2 part polyurathane foam and shaped it with a rasp and coarse sandpaper into the shape I want, fiberglass over and once the part is finished used a wire brush to remove the foam from the inside leaving a hollow fiberglass shell. And your car looks really cool. Bob N. in Benson.

I used some chicken wire to form out walls and next will fit it over the engine to see where else I may need to cut or trim. I figure I should have a good idea what I need space wise before starting to fiberglass it in. Still need to make a few minor adustments.

Thought you didn't want to do Fiberglass!

Did some body work and made it look nice.

Are you going to use different hinges?

Be sure to properly prep the existing glass so the new material bonds correctly.

Who told me that working with fiberglass would be eazy... the smell of the resin alone is awful. My first attempt at building the box pop out for the engine cover was a failure. The walls were not straight and sagged inward hitting the alternator and distrib cap. I am going to give it one more try and if not successful its sheet metal. Or maybe just double layers of chicken wire, I have lots of that laying around.